Waiting for the rain to stop
by IceColdSea
Summary: [Set after the Timeskip] A little story about an encounter in the rain that leads to tea, soup and a meaningful conversation. [For now: A story that is going to have two parts]
1. Part One

**Author's Note**

Welcome to another episode of "Me; throwing myself into rare pair hell"

For some stupid reason, this goddamn ship is slowly but surely taking over my life. And since I've been thinking about these two a lot most recently, all it took was a very, very rainy day in my city for me to get a fic idea.

There's going to be a part two but I don't know if it will go any further.

Heck, I also have to admit I am quite hesitant of posting this...I mean, not to be dramatic but it feels a little like I am committing blasphemy.

But well...Maybe it'll find it's audience so /shrug/ here goes nothing I guess.

Also...it's a very new experience for me to write any of the two and I hope I did okay.

Also...(Manga Spoilers ahead) This story here takes place after the Timeskip, so it's a Post-Central thing but they're still in school.

More notes at the end. Please read them ;w;

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Shokugeki no Soma or it's characters.

* * *

It of course had to rain when Etsuya Eizan needed it the least. Over the years he has learned to expect nothing less from his destiny.

Without umbrella and not in any way dressed for this kind of weather at all, he stood under a tree and had a thrilling competition with the clouds about who could probably look darker.

For quite some time now he was staring at the rainy, gray street in front of him, while the annoying patter of raindrops penetrated his ears.

It was as if Mother Nature was having fun testing out how long one could pull on Etsuya's patience until the rage broke out.

What appalled Etsuya the most in this situation was that the weather was truly out of his power.

The weather did what it wanted and there was really nothing Etsuya could do about it. He was absolutely powerless and without any control. And he hated that feeling.

The eighteenth, annoyed sigh of the day escaped him and he started to feel his bag for his cellphone so that he could distract himself a little.

But before he could devote himself to business plans and Sudoku, fate suddenly intervened: in form of a well-known voice. "Eizan?"

He looked up.

A young woman of his age had stopped in front of him. She wore rainproof boots, regular jeans and a black coat. In the pale hand she held the handle of a gray umbrella.

Her red eyes looked surprised and she raised her free hand to adjust her glasses.

"What are you doing here?"

Instead of answering her question, Etsuya slightly tilted his head to the right side. "Kinokuni?" He said in the same surprised tone she had used. She was silent and just looked at him expectantly. And so he just got to her question. However, quite short-cut. "I'm waiting. And what do you want here?"

She answered in the same short manner. "I am going home."

Actually, Etsuya would have thought that Nene Kinokuni would leave it at that. Eventually she would remind him of one of his Elite Ten duties but then wish him a nice day and continue on her way. That's how it usually went with her.

But to his surprise she stayed in front of him.

"What are you waiting for?"

He stopped short. "For the rain to stop." He then said. "Aha." Came from her.

For a short split of seconds, the two were silent and just stared at each other.

She, with this neutral, cool look that is so typical of her and perfectly shields any possible emotions in her from the world. And him, trying to somewhat imitate that said look.

Finally her red eyes broke eye contact with his, preferring to focus on his neck, then his chest, then his stomach and so on.

Nene inspected him from up to down and while Etsuya watched her doing so, he could not help but to think of robots in science fiction movies that scanned people for wounds or something.

"You are dressed way too light." The robot monotonously presented its result. Etsuya's teeth crunched. He had a sarcastic _'no, really?_ ' on his tongue and if anyone else had stood in front of him, he would have totally used that one. But it was _her_ standing in front of him. And so he decided to hum a "I know". Right after a new question followed. "How long have you been standing here?" To which he shrugged.

Suddenly her gaze sharpened, and she said in the reproving tone of a primary school teacher. "You're going to catch a cold, Eizan."

This statement, coming out of _her_ mouth caught him a bit by surprise and he raised his eyebrow in wonderment. "Pardon?!"

And like a primary school teacher who was being asked by her students to explain a subject she had already tackled five times before, she sighed. Then she gestured to the shirt he wore and elaborated. "If you stay in this get-up for even longer out here in the cold, you'll get sick. That's logical or not? "

He only continued to stare at her, causing another sigh on her part.

"Do you know what?" She then said. "My apartment is very close, you can wait there for the rain to stop. At least you will not catch a cold there."

Now his jaw dropped. Did he just understand correctly?

"... you want _me_ to come to _your house_?" He asked in disbelief after a short silence.

She frowned. "Is there a problem?"

It was not often that Etsuya was at a loss of words. After all, a good businessman must be convincing. And one of the best methods to be convincing were good, rhetorical skills. But at that moment he actually started to stammer a little. "I ... um ... it's just ... Is that really necessary, Kinokuni? I'll be fine on my own!"

She just looked at him sternly. "Well, a cold would not be beneficial to your business at all or what do you think?" "I ...!"

Mercilessly she took a step closer and her voice now took over that one, specific tone that almost made Etsuya give an automatic nod.

"Come on now, Eizan." It was that tone that did not allow any objection. The same tone that had said _"You will not leave Totsuki, Eizan"_ a few months earlier.

It had worked back then and it worked again.

He raised his hands in surrender and grunted while avoiding her sharp gaze. "Alright, alright, Kinokuni. No reason to be so gruff 'bout it." "You hardly leave me any choice." She promptly replied.

At the same time she raised her umbrella a little to signalise that he should join her under it's safety. But there was the fact that Nene Kinokuni was somewhere in the 1.60 range, while Etsuya Eizan almost reached 1.80 m of height.

"Should I take the umbrella?" He asked with crossed arms. "... That would be for the better." She replied. So she handed over the handle to her counterpart and for a moment their fingers lightly brushed in the process and a quick lightning of warmth passed through the two. Without verbalizing it, both immediately chose to ignore it and simply join in silence under the umbrella to start walking.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

So...That was it.

Actually not, because there is a part two.

What I just wanted to talk about is the possible up-coming criticism that Eizan might be acting too mild.

But let me point two things out:

1\. It happens after the Timeskip as I said above and is not Eizan during Autumn Elections or during Central. He seems to have redeemed himself from what I see so far, so I generally wrote him rather chill.

2\. Also...Please correct me if I am wrong on this, but one of the reasons why I actually ship Eizan and Nene is that, from what I've seen Nene seems to be the person Eizan holds the most respect for. From **all the characters** , even including Azami. While he never fails to be insulting and disrespectful even to his seniors, as far as I can remember he didn't said one rude thing to Nene. Even when she criticizes him...which usually makes him angry. So yeah. That's maybe way I wrote this so vanilla.

Anyways, thanks for reading I guess and I hope you stick around.

Tell me what you think. Especially if I kept the two in character, that's my biggest worry.

Cheers!


	2. Part Two

**Author's Note:**

I AM SO SORRY! There really is no excuse for this having taken so long, but meep. I stayed up till 3 am despite having to raise early tomorrow just to get it finally done. I hope it will be slightly worth the wait ! (I honestly feel it won't be.)

Also here's a **big, big, BIG** thank you for every review. They mean the world to me and greatly encouraged me. So many kind words ! ahhhh! Bless you, really. I must have read the reviews to this story a billion times !

Now then, here finally comes the second part !

* * *

For the most part they spent the way to Nene's Apartment with silence. Now and then he asked her what her class was doing in geography or what she thought about the new math teacher. She politely gave the answers, but never led to a larger conversation.

Finally she suddenly stopped abruptly, so that he did not even notice it and still took three or so more centimeters before he noticed that something was missing next to him. Just in time, because another step and the umbrella in his hand would have protected only half of her head.

When he then turned his questioning head down in her direction, she looked at him without any emotion. "We're here." She explained, short and simple as so often.

He wanted to look up to the house they were standing by, but the umbrella made this project much more difficult. And while he was experimenting with lifting the umbrella in a way that he could see something but not getting himself and his colleague wet, he heard Nene next to him begin to rummage in her pocket until she got a hold of something that made a tinkling sound. Undoubtedly a key.

"Alright ..." She murmured, a little more to herself before her voice got a little louder. "Will you come then, Eizan?"

Etsuya turned his gaze back to her and said nothing at first. Somehow he still expected some sign that the whole thing was a joke or a prank or something. The Kinokuni he was used to saw him as a barbarian criminal, not a person who she would invite into her house. However, the Kinokuni he was used to was not exactly known for joking much either.

So he finally grunted. "Yeah, yeah!"

For now, those were the last words spoken, when Nene just nodded and began to move forward. She opened the door as he closed her umbrella. The two entered the building and she went straight to the elevator, where he could only follow. The wait for the elevator and the ride in it remained silent.

Only when they finally stood in front of the door of Nene's apartment and she unlocked it, words came back into the game.

"Well then." She took a few steps into her apartment, took off her coat and then turned to him. "Welcome." Her eye contact with him was short-lived, as she then immediately turned her back to him to stoop for something. "Please take off your shoes, I have slippers here." She turned back, now with a pair of gray, simple slippers in her hand which she held out to him.

He looked at it for a moment before finally taking it. As he did so, he heard himself say. "But of course. Sorry for the disturbance." He was overcome with surprise as these words he spoke reached his ears. By his standards, that had just been very polite.

Nene made a fleeting gesture with her hand. "Do not worry about that." But there was also a touch of surprise in her voice as well. She decided not to think about it too much and to rather start taking off her own shoes and then slip into a pair of pale, pink slippers. He did the same and then finally entered the apartment.

It was all very clean and minimalist. As far as decoration was concerned, she had skimped on it and for the most part Nene had limited herself to the bare essentials. Only here and there could he discover small ornaments representing cranes or flowers.

Nene, who had already hung her coat away, waved a hand to the sofa, which stood in the middle of the room, and explained. "You can sit down there, I'll- Oh!" She interrupted herself as she turned her eyes to the sofa and saw a book on the gray pillows. Immediately she headed for it and explained, with a try on a firm voice. "Ah ... I'm sorry. The whole thing is spontaneous. Of course, if I had known that I would get visitors, I would have cleaned up." She picked up the book and then walked quickly to the bookshelf. "I hope you can understand that."

Etsuya felt the urge to smile. Nene's apartment was so clean that you could possibly see your reflection in it's floor and yet she apologized for a book on a sofa as if she had taken him to the most unclean room of the year. Somehow he thought that was ... _cute_.

What was he thinking?

But it was almost hard not to smile when he answered her. "Do not worry about that." He held the wet umbrella up in his hands. "Where is that going?"

Nene had just finished putting the book back on the shelf, arranged, of course, by surnames of authors, and turned her head back to him. When she saw the umbrella, her cheeks turned a little pink. "Oh... "She tried to look calm, but almost fell in his direction when taking the approach. "I'm sorry for that too." She held out her hands and he gave her the umbrella. After doing so, she quickly turned away from him to take the umbrella away.

It struck Etsuya that she did not often get a visit and was in the epitome of going through the steps that a good hostess had to fulfill in her head. The book and umbrella had completely brought her out of concept, and she was certainly scolding herself in silence.

 _Cute. Really adorable._

He almost wanted to tell her that he felt more welcome than usual and that there was nothing to worry about, but just before he bit his tongue.

 _Get your heads back out of the clouds!_ He demanded from himself, stern. _Stop being so soft!_

"You do not have to apologize." He said, trying to sound as if he did not care about it, no, has never cared about anything ever with the usage of a tawdry, untouched voice. But somehow he heard the hint of such an untypical, friendly assurance in it.

Inwardly, he shook himself briefly. _Damn, that was weird!_ Then he just decided to follow her words and walk the few inches to the sofa in a pronounced cool and unbothered manner to sit down there.

Normally he would now throw his arm over the back of the sofa and stretch out his legs far from each other to take as much space from the sofa as possible. He had always regarded it as an expression of dominance and power. He stood over rules and unwritten laws. He can do what he wants. But for the first time in his life, that somehow seemed impolite to him and so he simply crossed his arms and legs as he sat down, leaving uncharacteristically plenty of room for another person on the sofa.

Nene seemed to notice that as she walked over to him, a white towel in her hand, which was evident from her red eyes flashing in surprise as she studied his sitting position. However, she quickly managed to bring coolness and distance back into her face. "I brought you a towel if you want to dry yourself."

That was the only warning he got before she threw the towel in his direction. He could catch it, however, and grumbled afterwards. "Eh ... Thank you."

Nene nodded before turning away again. "I will cook something."

And so his rescuer disappeared in the kitchen and he stayed alone on the sofa.

Etsuya still could not believe it. _Since when was she so nice to him?_

Suspiciously he let his eyes wander around the apartment again, trying to see a hidden camera or a blond hairline from this plague Terunori, who could very well jump out of a corner and shout "HA". But nothing.

And he still had not discovered anything when Nene finally came back to him with a tray. She put the tray on the coffee table in front of him and said. "It's not much, but it will warm you up."

On the tray he saw a small, beautifully decorated with painting, bowl of soup from which a cloudy flower of steam evaporated. Next to it was a classic Japanese teapot accompanied by two cups.

Nene knelt in front of the small table and raised the teapot to fill the liquid in the cups. More steam rose as the red, bright clear brew poured into the cup. "That's rosehip tea." Nene explained, keeping a sharp eye on the cup, so that nothing overflowed. "I know you like coffee better, but tea is better at preventing colds, and as Arato-san told me, Rosehip should be good for that especially."

 _Great. Thanks, Arato-san._

Sullen Etsuya grit his teeth. He could barely control his sheer enthusiasm for rosehip tea.

He bit back any sarcastic comments about his undying love for rosehip tea and growled instead. "I will not get sick, Kinokuni."

Nene raised her head and fixated him with keen, sharp eyes. "With this tea and a little luck, maybe not, Eizan." She said, in a tone that let him know that he would not leave this apartment without choking down all the rosehip tea.

Nene had finished filling both cups and stood up. She pulled a chair to the table to sit on it and face him.

She took her cup and finally gave him eye contact again. "I hope you will like the soup."

For a few seconds his yellow eyes were stuck on her before he let them wander to the soup and cup of tea.

"Thanks for the food ..." He muttered, grabbing the small bowl and the spoon.

It was no surprise, but the soup tasted delicious and even the first spoon warmed him up, in a way almost comparable to the sun he thought. The rosehip tea was not quite his case, but Nene's sharp eyes could cool him down immediately should he complain, and so he just drank it obediently.

"If I had known someone would come I would have done Udon." She made an attempt to start conversation. "I talked to Nakiri-san about that not so long ago."

"Hm." Was Etsuya's answer when he took just another spoonful of soup. Again, the heat flowed through him and for a brief moment it seemed to him as if he had blooming cherry trees in front of him, blooming in the morning sun and swaying gently in the soft winds.

As he plunged the spoon back into the soup, listening to the loud patter of rain outside against the windows and the blood-red, steaming rosehip tea in the corner of his eye, a question burned on his tongue.

It was all too nice and perfect.

He was not used to that.

"Isshiki has mentioned that one of his dorm companions is also well acquainted with Udon ... The one with the glasses ..." Nene continued.

"Kinokuni." She suddenly heard and looked up from the tea in her hands.

A bit unsure, a little nervous Etsuya stirred in his soup before finally making a long sigh and looking at her.

"Why are you taking care of me?"

Nene's eyes widened slightly.

Since it gave him the feeling that he needed to explain further, he added, or at least tried: "It's just ... I thought ... well ... you're always like..."

Damn, for the second time this day he wrestled for words. Something not typical for him.

She finished the sentence. "... you thought I do not like you?"

He hated unnecessary chattery around the core-topic, but that was for some reason kind off too outright and straightforward for his taste. So it took a few moments before he finally said "...Yes".

Now it was Nene sighing as she slowly put her cup away.

"To be honest ..." She began, a hint of hesitant caution in her voice. "... You ... can sometimes make it hard for one, for that matter."

Immediately he grimaced, not even knowing why. It was true what she said, he really made it very difficult for people.

"Your morality leaves much to be desired, so do your manners from time to time, you dress like a hooligan, you can not control your temperament ..." Etsuya's expression darkened more and more. "... sometimes you make strange faces. You really can be such a barbarian- "

"I got it!" He rumbled, startling her a bit. He cleared his throat. "Sorry." But right after that his voice became a little louder again. "But that's exactly what I meant, you do not like me! Even then, after the Regiment de- "He interrupted himself. He had not wanted to bring it up to this level.

Nene was silent for now, staring at the rosehip tea. Then finally another sigh escaped her. "Rindou-senpai wanted me to stop you ..."

 _It had been after their common failure in the Regiment de Cuisine._

 _He had roared loudly. "FUCKING SHIT! I CANT FUCKING BELIEVE THIS CRAP!"_

 _Annoyed, Nene had taken a sip of tea. How was she supposed to focus on compensating to have utterly failed for the first time in her life when that monkey was making so much irritable noise around here?_

 _"Etsu-nyan is really angry." Momo had commented, flat as ever. Somei, who had sat next to her and grabbed one of the biscuits she had baked for their little misery-celebration, nodded. "Let's hope he does not break anything. "_

 _Eishi had squeaked frightened. "He ... he will not really do that, will he?"_

 _Almost as if on command, Etsuya had kicked an innocent plant and yelled. "FUCK!"_

 _"Barbarian." Nene had mumbled into her teacup._

 _But then Etsuya had screamed something interesting for the first time. "I WILL LEAVE THIS FUCKING SCHOOL!"_

 _That was the moment Rindou had looked up. An outraged gasp escaped her. "No, you certainly will not, Eizan!"_

 _But Etsuya had been in such a rage that he had shouted just more curses and finally kicked the door open to stomp out of it, seething._

 _Nene had taken another sip of tea, hoping she could finally think in peace. But for some reason the thought Etsuya could leave Totsuki had not left her. Something about this thought was wrong for her..._

 _Rindou had crossed her arms and huffed. After that, she had turned to Nene to take her arms apart again and put her hands on her hips instead. "Nene!" She had said in command. "Stop him"_

 _She had looked up in surprise. "What? Why me?" Rindou had begun to explain. "Because you're the only person he listens to." But that only surprised Nene more. "What...? No ... Where would you get that idea from? "_

 _But then Momo had started talking. "Rindou is right, Kinokuniyan." "Of course I am!" Rindou had laughed happyily. "But really Nene, have you never noticed that? When it comes to you, Eizan behaves differently!"_

 _Nene's eyes had widened slightly. "Are you serious?"_

 _"Absolutely." Had been Rindou's answer, Momo had nodded._

 _"If anyone can stop Eizan from leaving Totsuki ..." Rindou had said. "Then that's you, Nene."_

 _At first she had told herself that she did not care what Eizan did._

 _But in the end she stood up. She just could not concentrate, she had told herself when she finally took the direction Etsuya had gone._

 _She had found him quickly. He had thrown himself on one of the sofas in the hotel and grumbled to himself._

 _She had hesitated for a moment before taking the course._

 _"Eizan." She had announced coldly as always before she walked around the sofa to look at him._

 _He was visibly surprised and raised his eyebrow. "What?!" He had growled then._

 _She had taken a step forward, a calm, stony expression on her face. "Did you mean that?" She had asked. He had snarled. "What do you mean?!"_

 _Her eyes had remained iron. "What you said earlier. About ... "A little break. "... leaving Totsuki?" For a moment, confusion had hushed over his face, but then he had already crossed his arms, almost like a defiant child. "What does that concern you, Kinokuni?"_

 _"Nothing at all." She had honestly said. "But I wonder, why are you just running away now?" She had put sharpness into her voice to make it even more insistent._

 _Then she had to take a step back when he jumped up suddenly and hissed. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Her voice and eyes had remained cool. "You're running away." Etsuya had looked at her angrily, but there was not a single swear word thrown at her._

 _Finally he turned away. "Stay out of my life, right?!"_

 _Then she had gone a few steps forward, around him again, making him look at her, her sharp red eyes fixating his yellow ones._

 ** _"You will not leave Totsuki, Eizan."_**

 _His eyes had widened._

"Rindou-senpai ..." Etsuya mumbled, staring at his soup. He did not know why, but somehow he felt disappointment dwelling in himself.

But that disappeared as fast as it had come when he heard Nene say. "But honestly, I did not want you to go either."

He looked up again. The look that hit him back was serious and he could not see any sign of a lie in it.

"I think at that time I just wanted you to stay so that I could feel better about myself." She explained and looked away.

Now he was startled, surprised and slightly confused.

Nene gently scratched her cup with her thumb and pressed her lips together. "The senpais were about to graduate anyway. If you were gone, I ... would have been the only traitor. "

His forehead wrinkled. But before he could say anything, Nene explained further. "I think at the time I was afraid to get hate from all sides. And maybe I felt better knowing that you would be there too. You're already the bogeyman of the school anyway ..." She put the cup back on the table. "It was certainly selfish." She searched his gaze again and put force on her voice to show her words were serious. "But I see it differently now."

"Oh ..." Came from Etsuya, who took a new spoonful of soup.

"The fact is, you've done terrible things." Before he could protest in any way (which would have been pointless anyway, as that statement was hard to deny) she was already saying. "But I have done terrible things as well."

She remembered meeting three students from Satoshi's beloved dorm during the promotion exam. She recounted data on how Yuki Yoshino had fallen to her knees in tears after her loss and yelled loudly and full of misery into the sky. How Ryoko Sakaki had hugged her while tears ran down her face as well. How Zenji Marui, the boy who knew Udon well, could only stare at her, pale as a ghost. And she just walked past them without moving a face muscle.

If the Regiment de Cuisine had never existed, they would all have been gone. As well as Alice Nakiri, Ryo Kurokiba, Akira Hayama, Isami Aldini, Ikumi Mito, Shun Ibusaki, Daigo Aoki, Shoji Sato and Hisako Arato, who had recommended her the rosehip tea. All their promising careers would have ended with only one finger-snap. And for what? An Utopian ideology that would not work anyway.

"And although I would have thrown them off the school completely unmoved by their tears if everything had went according to plan..." For a brief moment, she pressed her lips together once again. "They are all nice to me ... I feel I do not deserve it at all, but they still give me a second chance and ..." She took a deep breath before looking back at him again. "... I think, why should I not give you one too?"

His eyes widened a little and suddenly he found himself unusually speechless.

And even after a long break, he could only stammer. "But ... you ... you are aware that I ... that ... well ... my atrocities outweigh .. ...somehow..."

"Still." She answered simply. "If you commit, I feel you can change." He leaned back a bit and took the last sip of rosehip tea.

There was silence. Absolute silence. And it took the two a few minutes to realize the significance of the silence.

Etsuya was the first to say it. "It stopped raining ..." She glanced at the window to make sure and then noted. "Right."

The two pairs of eyes met and for a short moment it was quiet again, as the two just looked at each other.

Etsuya then finally stood up and cleared his throat. "Well, I think that's my time to go, right? I still have to go somewhere." A little sheepish, Nene stroked back a strand of hair. "Oh, of course." She also got up to accompany him to the door.

He quickly slipped off slippers and put his shoes back on. Just as he straightened up, Nene pushed a umbrella into his hand. "In case it should start again ..." She muttered. "Just bring it back to me tomorrow." He hesitated a moment, then accepted it. "Sure thing."

Then he turned away, walked to the door and opened it. He took a step out, then paused and turned his head.

"Kinokuni."

"Yes?"

After a few moments silence, he said. "Thank you. For the soup, the tea, the umbrella and ... for everything else. "

She blinked a few times, a little surprised, before answering. "No problem."

He nodded to her again before leaving the apartment. "See you tomorrow, then." "See you tomorrow."

As the door closed, Nene sank to the floor. Heat was burning in her head. But it was the same with Etsuya, who leaned briefly against her door and bit his lip. He pressed her umbrella firmly.

Finally he shook his crimson head and took a quick step on the way to the elevator.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading ! As you can see there's a few personal headcanons and theories in this !

Also I hope the informtation I read on rosehip tea online was correct


End file.
